Friday, November 30, 2007

Malaysia Today's founder and editor, as have many others inside and outside Malaysia, have raked yours truly over the proverbial coals regarding my stance towards a much-maligned ideology usually referred to as Zionism. For the record, and let me make this very clear up front--I am an unapologetic Zionist.

Zionism is a dirty word in Malaysia. If you really want to offend or demonise someone, why of course one calls them, among other things, a Zionist ('apostate' and 'kufr' are also perennial favourites). Zionists are routinely portrayed in Malaysia's state-owned media and elsewhere in the Malaysian blogosphere as Nazis, murderers, and/or criminals of the worst sort. What's really going on is that anti Semitism--Jew hatred--is now masquerading under the disingenuous moniker known as 'anti Zionism'. Anti Zionism in reality is nothing but a thinly disguised pejorative for anti Semitism. Don't be fooled. Every aspect of Muslim culture and media remains geared toward the elimination of Israel.

It's no surprise that one in Malaysia never hears any alternative viewpoint to this rabid hysteria and venomous hatred. Zionism is also itself never explained, except perhaps as the 'sword of neo-colonialism' in the Middle East or something analagous, a propaganda flourish in itself that Herr Goebbels (Hitler's chief propagandist, may he burn in hell) would no doubt be proud of. Conventional opinion in Malaysia and elsewhere has it that one is entirely justified in using violence against anyone who breaks into one's home in order to occupy it. The libel of portraying Zionism as a colonial settler movement is therefore a key instrument in making the murder of Jewish men, women and children (God forbid) acceptable in our age. Every time M-T or any other Malaysian publication advocates 'anti Zionism', they are in fact (unwittingly or otherwise) participating in an ongoing conspiracy to commit mass murder.

Zionism, simply put, is Jewish nationalism, the belief that Jews deserve a national home on the land of their ancient birthright, the land of Israel. Theodor Herzl, a Austro-Hungarian journalist, founded modern, secular Zionism in the late 19th century. But he never lived to see his vision of the state of Israel come to reality, having died in 1904. Sadly, Herzl was wrong in one fundamental way about his own idea: he thought that the Jews having their own state would end all Jew-hatred. A brief tour of M-T's archives or the Arab/Muslim press shows every day how tragically mistaken Herzl was.

The reality is Israel is a modern democracy where Jews and non Jews enjoy equality, just as Herzl had foreseen. Israel does not foist a despicable NEP-style programme upon any of its inhabitants, nor does it cause any of its citizens to suffer from anything remotely resembling 'Ketuanan Yahudi'--nothing of the kind exists. The state of Israel is not fascistic, not colonial nor imperialistic, and does not indulge in practicing religious or ethnic apartheid, as is the usual practice in virtually all Muslim-ruled states.

One can also find support for Zionism in some of the most unlikely places. For example, there is one reference, a source that many Malaysians find authorative, that unequivocally supports the idea of Israel belonging to its rightful owners, the Jews.

This source says:

"And we said to the Children of Israel, 'scatter and live all over the world…and when the end of the world is near we will gather you again into the Promised Land."

And also this same source asserts this:

"Remember when Moses said to his people: 'O my people, call in remembrance the favor of God unto you, when he produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave to you what He had not given to any other among the people. O my people, enter the Holy Land which God has assigned unto you, and then turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin.'"

The source of these two quotes? It's the Quran--specifically Sura 17:204 and Sura 5:20-21, respectively. Even the Quran recognizes that the sovereign right of the Jews over the Land of Israel is the will of Allah.

The essential narrative is that Jews in Israel are not "colonial settlers", but its true and rightful inhabitants.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

A British schoolteacher in Sudan will charged with 'insulting Islam' for allowing her students to name a teddy bear 'Mohammed'. The penalty for this supposedly 'grave crime' is 40 lashes and probably whatever other cruelties the Islamic barbarians of Khartoum can dream up.

Also, our enemies the Saudis have recently sentenced a 19 year old rape victim (not the rapist, mind you) to 200 lashes and six months in prison.

According to the Saudi 'Justice' Ministry, the woman, "...invited the sexual attack by seven men because she was in a parked car with a man who was not a relative."

And if you think 200 lashes is bad, consider this other tidbit of news from Saudi Barbaria. Last month two gay men in the Saudi city of Al-Bahah were convicted of sodomy and sentenced to 7,000 lashes each.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Shamoo here is one of the Muslim 'youths' killed when they rammed into a police car in the 'burbs' of Paris. He has a webpage and Reuters had this snapshot of the page but no link. The government has probably had it shutdown. But isn't he an upstanding Parisian! I mean, really. Who's to judge? Certainly not whitey.

Almost all the news articles don't even touch Islam. Heaven forbid! And let me tell you it is looking really stupid to blame whitey's racism for the Muslim problem, but they persist in the farce. Is it just me, or all journalists stupid, scared or just hate the West 'for what's its done.'

Chamoo, who last logged onto his blog the day before his death, wrote in one entry: "Whether people talk well or badly about me, the important thing is that they talk about it."

He was planning something big? Were they intending to hit the police car, maybe not to die, and play the victims, just a way to scare and milk the Frenchies? I'm glad they died, whether they intended that outcome or not.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Face it, it's not the British Government's fault that the Malaysians of Indian descent are in dire straits. Anyone recall the 'Merdeka' madness just a couple of months ago, when the number '50' was plastered on every flat surface in the country? That means the Brits have been gone for 50 years now. So continuing to blame problems on the former colonial masters is just not as convincing as it used to be. The Brits, in fact, took better care of the Indian labourers in Malaya than any BN government ever has.

So while I think HINDRAF's (Hindu Rights Action Force's) $4 trillion legal case against the British Government doesn't have any merit, that does not mean they don't have a right to protest. HINDRAF still should havethe freedom to march and beat their chests about their grievances,along with BERSIH and any other group of citizens. In Britain, the citizens there certainly have the right to peacably assemble and the British bobbies won't touch you while you do it. For instance, the Muslims in Britain take advantage of this freedom on a regular basis when they march to call for turning Britain into a shariah state. Even then, the British police stand around and do nothing. Can youimagine what would happen if any group marched in the streets of KL and called for the overthrow of the Government? Look at what the 'POLIS' do to peaceful assemblies now!

But in Malaysia, everyone knows how much 'freedom of assembly' there really is, despite what a silly piece of paper called the Federal Constitution says about it. The authorities are busily arresting, beating, and threatening everyone they can reach that's even had a thought of supporting HINDRAF. It's all for your own good, don't you see, all in the name of 'public security' and 'keeping harmony between the races.' All code phrases for the motley local gang of thugs and tyrants who go under the 'BN' moniker to keep power in perpetuity.

The real cause of 50 years of Indian poverty is not in London. Try looking at lot closer to home.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

The great 19th century British naturalist Charles Darwin's singular contribution to the annals of science was his (still) provocative idea of "survival of the fittest." In other words, the species best adopted to their environment tend to survive and thrive, while those less than ideally suited tend to perish. Furthermore, changing conditions can and do cause the emergence of newly dominant organisms. The fossil record is full of the remnants of species--dinosaurs, mammoths, et al--that were, for whatever reason, not up to the task of surviving in a changing world.

Darwin's theory can also be extended to fields outside the natural sciences. Other entities also rise and fall in their respective realms depending on their ability to cope with a dynamic environment and how they deal with their competitors. Corporations succeed or fail based on how well they have 'read' their chosen marketplace(s) and operating conditions. What happens if companies are no longer able to perform these functions well? Ask anyone who used to work for Montgomery Ward or Eastern Airlines, for instance.

Other human organizations/systems also must cope with the same dynamics. They must attract new members, care for and retain existing ones, address funding issues, handle administrative matters with reasonable levels of efficiency, manage their culture/ideology over time, and effectively deal with competitors.

Islam is a belief system and it faces the same sort of issues. Whatever can be said about Islam's supposed merits, Islam works. By 'works', I mean that Islam is successful in gaining new followers, retaining existing ones, and dealing with competing belief systems.

Islam manages all these functions, simply put, through coercion, intimidation, fanaticism, deception and violence. Muslims, once 'born' or converted into the belief system, cannot leave under pain of death. Other belief systems that Islam bumps up against are mislead, oppressed, marginalized, or outright annihilated, as the followers of Zoroaster in Persia, Buddha in Afghanistan, or YHWH in Arabia could readily attest to. If they could still testify to anything, that is. Islam's murderous Jihad, having liquidated all of them, has relegated many of its competitors to the dusty and forgotten pages of history.

By accident of geology, Muslim nations sit on top of vast quantities of oil, which requires little processing, is in high demand, and thus can be sold at vast profit. This not only takes care of fundraising, but also finances additional growth and offensive operations (information warfare, 'martydom' operations, etc.) against those competiting ideologies. Such sales also have the added bonus (for Islam of course) of draining the coffers of non Muslims.

Is Islam the 'fittest' ideology? Is it fated to dominate by outmuscling or destroying all others in its path? The followers of Mohammed can certainly be encouraged by the historical record. Wherever Islam invades, it conquers and rules supreme. Half of the Hindu world, most of the Buddhist states, the vast majority of Jews and Christians in the Middle East...all destroyed utterly by the sword of Mohammed.

Only two major territorial setbacks for Islam can be found in 14 centuries of its existence-- the Reconquista of Spain, completed in the 15th century, and the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1947. And the Ummah has every reason to believe that these two setbacks are only temporary.

Are environmental conditions changing before our eyes to favor Islam once and for all? The West (Islam's chief strategic competitor at present) no longer bears enough children to even replace its own numbers, let alone grow in any meaningful way. The West's core Judeo-Christian ideology, discredited by its own ruling elite, has now been supplanted by the dictum of 'Political Correctness/Multiculturalism', a pernicious self-destructive creed of defeat that all but begs for victimization from aggressors (i.e. Islam). Furthermore, Muslims are also free to permanently migrate into the territory of their main rivals (Europe and North America) in ever-growing numbers. Emasculated Western leaders are either incapable or unwilling to alter the situation.

The Islamic World, on the other hand, has a surplus of manpower (a by-product of polygamy, and the banning of birth control), trillions in oil-funded capital, and is more than ever confident in its own core ideology--that Islam is fated to rule the world. Why should they doubt it, with it coming true before our eyes?

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Fascinating reading from the counterjihad scholars of the Center for the Study of Political Islam (CSPI). Their careful research has revealed the fact that Islam has killed more people than all the wars of the past two centuries combined.

Here are some war casualty statistics for your perusal. All numbers below are approximate:

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

In a recent email, I was asked why we at PI did not actively attempt to 'reach out' to moderate Muslims who may be somewhat less bloody-minded than their jihadist brethren. Here is my answer to that question:

...Being aware of Mohammed's record and behavior (through my studies of the Koran, Hadith and Sira), I am convinced that no decent philosophy or religious movement can be based on the words and deeds of such a duplicitious, violent, intolerant man. I think it's very apt to say that building a kind-hearted ideology on the teachings of Mohammed is exactly like trying to base a respectable political party upon Hitler's crackpot racial theories. It simply can't be done.

You mentioned your interest in reaching out to 'moderate' Muslims. Let me tell you my thoughts on that subject.

A 'moderate' Muslim more often than not, willingly or otherwise, serves as a front, trojan horse, apologist, fund raiser and potential recruit for his more aggressive jihadist-minded co-religionists. Mohammed Atta, the field commander of the infamous 9-11 Jihadist 'raid' on America, is one name of a former 'moderate Muslim' (he was a middle-class western-educated engineering student if you recall) that you may recognize. There are countless others, less well known, but every bit as disingenuous and dangerous as he was.

In Mao's words, these so-called moderates function as the 'sea' for the violent Jihadists to swim in. Moderate Muslims may not be indulging in violent jihad (for the moment), but they can and do participate actively in other fronts in Islam's Global Jihad, i.e. demographic, information, financial, and so on.

Therefore I have no interest in reaching out to 'moderate' Muslims, except for trying to convince them to leave the aggressive totalitarian movement called Islam.

EXPATICA: ANTWERP – "If headscarves are banned for employees who work at the desk at city services in order to guarantee neutrality of services, then we demand that no Christmas trees be set up in city buildings and that no Easter eggs be given out." Antwerp trade union representative Badia Miri said this on Wednesday [back in August] in the Gazet van Antwerpen.

Miri is one of the seven Muslim women who were forced to remove their headscarves if they wanted to continue working at the desk. Three of the seven staff members of the city of Antwerp who wore headscarves agreed to stop wearing one. Different positions - not involving contact with the public - were found for the others. No one was dismissed. There is still opposition to the dress code however, which came into effect in March. The seven Muslim women are now urging that "neutrality of service provision be actually enforced." Muslims want ban on Easter eggs

Friday, November 16, 2007

“Hitler had been much impressed by a scrap of history he had learned from a delegation of distinguished Arabs. When the Mohammedans attempted to penetrate beyons France into Central Europe during the eighth century, his visitors had told him, they had been driven back at the Battle of Tour. Had the Arabs won the battle, the world would be Mohammedan today. For theirs was a religion that believed in spreading the faith by the sword and subjugating all nations to that faith. The Germanic peoples would have become heirs to that religion. Such a creed was perfectly suited to the Germanic temperament. Hitler said that the conquering Arabs, because of their racial inferiority, would in the long run have been unable to contend with the harsher climate and conditions of the country. They could not have kept down the more vigorous natives, so that ultimately not Arabs but Islamized Germans could have stood at the head of this Mohammedan empire.

Hitler usually concluded this historical speculation by remarking: ‘You see, it’s been our misfortune to have the wrong religion. Why didn’t we have the religion of the Japanese, who regard sacrifice for the Fatherland as the highest good? The Mohammedan religion too would have been much more compatible to us than Christianity. Why did it have to be Christianity with its meekness and flabbiness?’ It is remarkable that even before the war he sometimes went on: “Today the Siberians, the White Russians, and the people of the steppes live extremely healthy lives. For this reason they are better equipped for development and in the long run biologically superior to the Germans.’ This was an idea he was destined to repeat in far more drastic tones during the last months of the war." [ Source: Albert Speer: Inside the Third Reich]

Train passengers face routine airline-style bag checks and body searches as part of a new counter-terror crackdown announced by Gordon Brown.

Your view: Would a 'Fortress Britain' protect us from terrorism? Anti-terror admiral does U-turn on detention Curb on cabin baggage to end in January He conjured up visions of ''Fortress Britain" as he unveiled a succession of security measures at airports, railway stations, sports venues and other public places.

In 2003 tanks were deployed to Heathrow Airport because of a suspected plot to shoot down an airliner There is also to be a huge "hearts and minds" drive aimed at diverting young Muslims away from the influence of fanatics.

The Prime Minister said a review of vulnerable buildings and crowded spaces like shopping centres had led to a rethink of the way they are protected.

More than 250 busy railway stations, airports and seaports as well as 100 "sensitive" installations like power stations and electricity substations will be given extra security.

This could include screening luggage at major stations like London King's Cross or Manchester Piccadilly using mobile checking devices that can be moved around the country.

More buildings will be defended by barriers to stop car bomb attacks, extra blast-proofing, vehicle exclusion zones and metal detectors.

advertisementNew security guidance is being sent out to sports venues, pubs, clubs and bars, shopping centres and tourist attractions together with thousands of cinemas and theatres, restaurants and hotels.

Advice will also be given to hospitals, schools and places of worship on how to keep visitors safe.

Some 160 counter-terrorism advisers will train civilian staff to identify suspect activity and ensure premises have adequate emergency facilities and make best use of their CCTV footage.

At the same time, however, restrictions on aircraft hand baggage - introduced after an alleged plot to blow up trans-Atlantic flights last year - are to be eased.

The one-bag limit and tougher screening of luggage will be progressively lifted, starting with several airports from Jan 7.

In a wide-ranging Commons statement, Mr Brown outlined elements of a new national counter-terrorist strategy being drawn up in Whitehall.

Extra protection for so-called ''crowded places" is planned following a review by Lord West, the Security Minister.

It was prompted by the summer terrorist attacks in London and at Glasgow airport.

Mr Brown said that no "major failures in our protective security" had been uncovered by Lord West's review.,,,,

Brussels will be Muslim majority in the next 10 years. Perhaps it already is. As a poster at Free Republic noted, no shots will be fired, only the womb of the Muslims and a generous welfare state will do the trick. Take a look at the most common boy names in Brussels. The list is dominated by Muslim names with Mo leading the pack. Eurabia is born.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

This is the limit! The chutzpah of it all! Now the Muslim immigrants want the indigenous British population to adopt some Islamic values to integrate with the Muslim community! Integration, he says, works both ways. Yes, Dr Bari, just as it does in Saudi Arabia, and in other barbaric Islamic cultures. This really is the giddy limit! This is the example par excellence of Muslim immigrants trying it on.

How much longer must the long-suffering British tolerate this damn nonsense?

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari now suggests that alcohol be banned in all public places, just like smoking! (What did I tell you would happen after that ridiculous smoking ban?) He also wants the British to adopt arranged marriages, and homosexuality must be outlawed again, of course. In a few words, they want to drive us all back to the Dark Ages.This man thinks that Britain could benefit from a little more morality (Islamic morality, of course). Hm! Does this ridiculous man not think that the Islamic world could benefit from a little more Christian humanity?

THE TELEGRAPH: The head of the Muslim Council of Britain does not mince his words on integration, report Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson

There is fear and loathing in Britain. This week, the head of MI5 claimed there were 2,000 people involved in terrorist activity and children as young as 15 were being "groomed" to be suicide bombers.

Gordon Brown announced plans to require immigrants to learn English and Downing Street said the Prime Minister wanted to double the number of days that terrorist suspects can be detained without trial. Then, just as the Metropolitan Police was being censured for shooting the Stockwell One, the Lyrical Terrorist became the first woman to be convicted of terrorist crimes.

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, the leader of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), thinks the Government is stoking the tension. "There is a disproportionate amount of discussion surrounding us," he says. "The air is thick with suspicion and unease. It is not good for the Muslim community, it is not good for society."

The 53-year-old special needs teacher has a gentle manner and a quiet voice - he describes himself as a "community spokesman" rather than a "religious leader" - but he does not mince his words.

Britain must, he warns, beware of becoming like Nazi Germany.

"Every society has to be really careful so the situation doesn't lead us to a time when people's minds can be poisoned as they were in the 1930s. If your community is perceived in a very negative manner, and poll after poll says that we are alienated, then Muslims begin to feel very vulnerable. We are seen as creating problems, not as bringing anything and that is not good for any society."

There is, in his view, no such thing as Islamic terrorism.

"Terrorists are terrorists, they may use religion but we shouldn't say Muslim terrorists, it stigmatises the whole community. We never called the IRA Catholic terrorists." Dr Bari thinks Jonathan Evans, the head of MI5, made the extremists' job easier by giving a bleak picture of the threat on the eve of the Queen's Speech. Dr Bari: Government stoking Muslim tension (more) By Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson

Today Kuala Lumpur is seeing a huge protest march against the government, the largest in at least 10 years. Issues for the marchers range from corruption at all levels of government (especially in the police and judiciary), crooked elections, massive waste/fraudulent use of public funds, and growing Islamization of Malaysia's government, laws and culture.

It amounts to a massive show of public discontent with the overlords of UMNO, the party that has been in power for over 50 years. UMNO is scared. After seeing decades of their malfeasance, they should be!

Reports from KL today indicate that roadblocks are everywhere both inside and outside the city, traffic is a nightmare, and the police are on the streets in a massive show of force. I have even heard of rumors to the effect that the army has been called or will soon be deployed on the streets in KL, although I have NOT been able to confirm this yet. It's also too early to tell how many people will actually be able to show up at Dataran Merdeka, although the latest estimates put this number between 10 and 40,000.

This afternoon is seeing a lot of heavy tropical downpours in downtown KL, although I doubt this will deter most of the protestors. I am with the marchers in spirit, as my commitments in Korea prevent me from being in Malaysia at the moment.

So far the lines of communication (Internet and mobile phone networks) are still up and running, so I should be able to post more information here when it becomes available.

SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The Dayton Peace Accords called for the removal of foreign combatants from Bosnia after the Balkans war. But hundreds of mujahedeen fighters stayed, and today they are successfully spreading their fundamentalist Islamist views.

Thick iron bars block the entrance to Abu Hamza's store in Sarajevo's Islamic shopping center. Affixed to the bars is a handwritten note: "My Bosnian citizenship has been revoked. I have to defend myself, and for this reason my store is only open sporadically."

Abu Hamza, a bearded 42-year-old man originally from Syria, sits in his store among colorful veils and gold-embroidered tunics and speaks in a gentle voice about Bosnia's fate. Which, he says, will be either an evolution of true Islam, or a revolution. Fundamentalist Islam Finds Fertile Ground in Bosnia (more) By Renate Flottau

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Pakistan is best thought of as a three ring circus-- the military, civilian politicians, and the Jihadists. These three contestants have been fighting for control of the dysfunctional state of Pakistan ever since the Partition of 1947.

Mostly, however, control of the state has switched from generals to corrupt politicians back to the generals (General Perv being the latest), and thus continues the cycle. The current strife in Pakistan is a repeat of the pattern. Problem is, no one can rule this wreck of a nation very well, with corruption and violence spiraling on and on without let up. Compared to Pakistan, India is a smashing success.

This explains why Perv is going first and foremost after opposition leaders, politicians and lawyers. After all, they are the traditional political 'enemy' of the generals, who (so far) have the loyalty of the army, and are Pakistan's most powerful faction.

The problem with a three-sided struggle for power is that it allows one side to play off the two others and possibly gain an advantage. Thus, the third party to this undeclared civil war, the Taliban jihadists, operating from secure bases in the Paki tribal hinterlands, are free to exploit the mess and press for maximum advantage. And this is what they are doing. Whilst the army cracks down in Karachi and Islamabad, the Jihadists in the countryside gain ground and expand their domain with little or no opposition.

General Perv, the self-appointed leader of this mess of a country in 1999, is far less popular in his own country than another likely denizen of Pakistan, Osama himself. Even worse, he is either unable or unwilling to turn the full might of his faction on the true threat-- the Taliban/Al Qaeda alliance.

What's truly ironic about all this is that it is Pakistan's own intelligence services who sponsored the birth of the Taliban in next-door Afghanistan in the 1990s. And now, in a supreme example of 'blow back', it is this movement that has carved off its own jihadist state within Pakistan's borders, are the sworn enemies of Perv's government, and who have repeatedly call for (and have attempted to carry out) his assasination.

What makes this desperate struggle a terrifying one for anyone observing this from afar are several dozen Pakistani nuclear weapons. Who will get the nukes? There is no doubt the terrorists would do anything to get their hands on such a weapons, and then use them.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Pedestrian Infidel would like to wish our Hindu readers a joyous and safe Deepavali ("Divali') holiday, the Hindu Festival of Lights. The lights of fireworks, lamps or other lights that are usually lit for this festive occasion are meant to signify the ultimate triumph of good over evil, which in these trying times is exactly the sort of message we should be focusing on.

This holiday is virtually unknown in the west or by non-Hindus, which is a shame. We infidels should be aware of each others' holidays.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

TEHRAN, Iran - Thousands of Iranians nationwide demonstrated Sunday to celebrate the 28th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy by militant studentsIranian terrorists, state television reported.

Demonstrators in the capital, Tehran, including elementary school students, gathered outside the former U.S. Embassy, chanting anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli slogans. They burned the two countries’ flags and warned Washington to learn from the hostile incident.

...

“The U.S. has designed a triangle of military, cultural and economic threats against the Iranian nation,” Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Iran’s interior minister, said during Sunday’s demonstration, which happens every year on Nov. 4.

That's right-- it's an annual holiday in Iran. Bring out the kids and chant 'Death to America!'

I say we return the favor by having annual anti-Iran celebrations on the same day, November 4. It's high time to start burning Iran's flag (see above).

Monday, November 05, 2007

Here’s a recent headline from this part of the world— “Korea refuses visa to Dalai Lama”. And it’s the third refusal in the past seven years. Now, why would South Korea do such a thing? After all, Korea is traditionally a Buddhist state. The recent wave of evangelical Christianity here notwithstanding, Korea still has a large segment of its population who identify themselves as Buddhists. So it makes sense for Korea to roll out the red carpet for His Holiness, the world’s foremost Buddhist leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, right?

Not so fast. The reasons for Korea’s repeated refusals to Tibet’s leader in exile—growing obsequiousness towards Red China—reflect a unique Asian brew of money and power politics.

Korea sees its future in the west, but that’s ‘west’ with a lower case ‘w’, not the ‘West’. ‘West’ of Korea is mighty China, just a short 30-minute hop by air across what Koreans prefer to call oddly enough the “West Sea” (a.k.a. the Yellow Sea). At the beginning of this decade, Korea opened a massive new airport near Seoul that is specifically intended to be a portal into China. Korean companies in recent years have built massive factories there and also invested considerable sums of capital to access lucrative markets inside China. As the communist giant continues its economic expansion, Korea will orient itself ever more westward (towards China) and less eastward (towards the US). Korea is laying its bets for the 21st century, and guess where they’re placing those bets? Betting on China is sound economic sense in the land that gave birth to Samsung and Hyundai.

There’s also the practical matter that there are not many other countries in this part of the world that Korea gets along with. North Korea? The impoverished Stalinist state that’s within artillery range of South Korea’s capital is like having a deranged, broke, and heavily armed uncle who’s squatting right outside one’s front door. The locals try their level-headed best to ignore him, interspersed with occasional payoffs to keep the psychotic relative north of the DMZ (hopefully) starving quietly. And the North is no place the pragmatic ‘chaebol’ (Korean corporations) expect to make (anything more than miniscule-sized) profits anytime in the foreseeable future. So, nix the North.

Well, what about Japan? Despite technically being allied with Korea, as well as also being a capitalistic democracy, Japan is openly despised, not so much for any rational reasons but for more emotional and nationalistic ones. Japan is also the hated former imperial occupier that has never quite apologized enough for its previous malfeasance, despite having over six decades to do so. In other words, for Koreans, Japan is just like the ex-spouse who was forced to move out of your house after a violent shotgun marriage and an acrimonious divorce, but who still lives just next store…when you wished they lived on the other side of the planet.

Koreans are also more favorably inclined towards China due to historical and cultural reasons. Before the rise of the Korean language centuries ago, educated Koreans spoke and wrote in Chinese, and for some special occasions, still do today. A collective mindset and deep-seated Confucian mentality also bear witness to shared cultural roots between the two countries. Therefore China enjoys a more favorable image in the minds of Koreans, despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Chinese Red Army fought on Korean soil (in alliance with the North) from 1950-1953. China’s massive military meddling in Korea’s civil war are somehow less of a sin in the Korean popular imagination than Japan’s colonial ownership of Korea.

Hence, as far as the Korean government and Korean business leaders are concerned, it’s very good sense—politically, culturally, and economically—to placate the local superpower. Lest anyone forget, Beijing is much closer to Seoul than Washington ever can be, geographically speaking. And nobody in Beijing—and therefore Seoul as well—has any love for the Dalai Lama, who in China’s judgment is a dangerous political dissident and secessionist. China has made it clear that you can’t be a true friend of the Middle Kingdom if you extend any sort of welcome to the likes of him.

With their country slowly but surely sliding towards being a de facto Sino client state, Koreans aren’t likely to see His Holiness on their soil anytime soon. In 21st century Korea, the dollar trumps the Dalai Lama.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Everyone knows what ‘grim milestones’ the Treasonist Media usually covers, right? You know, whenever US troop deaths in Iraq reach some round number with two or three zeroes in it, the Lamestream Media is all over it like flies on shite.

In fact, the hardworking folks at the RoP site that do such a sustained splendid job tracking all of this Islamic butchery, violence and murder are very soon going to have to add another digit on their counter to keep up. It takes a lot of work to keep up with the stacks of bodies left by those lovely ‘activists’ of the Religion of Peace.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

The new month has so proven to be very disappointing for anyone involved either in the counterjihad or in Malaysia's political opposition movement. The leading light of Malaysia's nascent political blogosphere, Malaysia Today (M-T), has been slain...at least for now.

Last Thursday on 1 November, the site was rendered inaccessible. By Friday, the M-T index page had been restored, but the individual articles had not. By Friday evening, the site had been more or less restored, but five days of articles and comments (including one of my own columns posted there) had been irretrievably lost.

Now the entire site, index page and all, has been hacked out of existence, despite M-T's elaborate defenses against such things.

Lacking any hard data, I can only surmise that hackers working on behalf or, or hired by the ruling party of the Islamic State of Malaysia-- i.e. UMNO-- are responsible. UMNO must have learned from their previous ham-handed attempts to sabotage Malaysia's number one website for opposition to their corrupt stewardship of the country. These hackers and their botnets have clearly succeeded this time where UMNO's previous hacking attempts failed.

The timing of this savage cyber assault is no coincidence, not with the biggest anti-government protest march in the history of the country scheduled to take place less than one week from today, at 3pm on 10 November at Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) in downtown KL. M-T or no M-T, you can bet that the 'Yellow Wave' march planned for next weekend will go on.

Let's hope RPK has the heart, skills, and resources to restore M-T to its former glory. Otherwise, UMNO will have themselves another ill-gotten victory.